A great weekend then we say bye bye to NP2 for a while

Moored Devizes, K&A Canal

We had a great weekend down at Devizes Wharf, and were pleased that the main protest day was on the Saturday and not Sunday which made hardy boaters even more hardy at other protests that were held on that day throughout the country.. Good ‘ol Mo and Ness just about made a protest all of their own at Leicester, the only boat there as no others could get up or down the river.. the walking protesters and the BBC making Balmahahahaha the base of protest!  Well done you two!!

At Devizes we purchased tickets for the grand supper and supporting band for the organized event in the community hall during Saturday evening at the Devizes Boat Club.  The supporting band was Meet on the Ledge an odd name for a band I thought, but the Fairport Convention song of the same name must be an influence for them, and it was.  A very entertaining band of two good guitarists and a violin made for some fine music with some Irish jigs thrown in.

Not only did they have a halftime break, but also a moon break!!  Everyone went outside to view the eclipse, what a wonderful sight that was.. I am sure most would have seen it.  We arrived back on NP just before midnight!

Sunday was atrocious as per the weather forecasters and we hurried across back to where we had left off last night for a hearty breakfast before sounding out horn loudly as we untied NP from the other boats and made our way back to the Marina to relax in the afternoon. 

We took the curtains down in NP2 ready for her to be sand blasted today and to finally cover up as much as we could of the interior workings of the last two months.

Today we said goodbye to her for a couple of weeks or so.. here she is waiting for the sand blasting to start.. note she doesn’t quite fit into the wet dock her stern poking outside!

They have boarded and covered the front doors and windows prior to the sand blasting. 

We were just about to leave in NP1 when we met John and Fiona who had just arrived back on Epiphany from a trip to Wooton Rivers calling in at the protest at Pewsey on the way back. John and Fiona moor in this marina but we had never met them, and we chatted a while on the quay before having a ‘walk through’ on the beautifully built narrowboat from Bath Narrowboats, mainly designed by John himself.

We decided then to have lunch and just as we pulled the pins we could hear the sandblaster at work on the old paintwork of NP2.. well she will be a different colour when we get back in a couple of weeks time.  So we are off then to the west for a well deserved rest from all the fitting out so far.  Caen Hill here we come.. in a couple of days time we will be in Sells Green.  Lucy will love the change of scenery as will we both too.  It is 10 weeks that we have been here in and around Devizes area I think.. shhhhhhh don’t tell the lengthsman